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May 27, 2013

My first iPhone — loving it is easy!

Finally, she has come home. Our family's first Apple baby - the iPhone 5. I've been waiting to upgrade my current HTC Wildfire phone for quite some time and after evaluating all the flagships I had in mind, i.e. the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and LG Nexus 4, I came to the conclusion that iPhone 5 is the best fit for me, at least for now (I've discussed the reasons below). Apple says, loving it is easy. And it really is as soon as you hold the iPhone in your hands. I can't describe it in words as it's a completely out of the world feeling and there's no second thoughts that the iPhone is a brilliant craft of technology and design aesthetics which Steve Jobs started in 2007. I am a big advocate of everything google, android but now it's time to embrace Apple as in my old age I don't want to end up saying that I never used an Apple product, otherwise my grandkids will question me big time!
I wasn't born rich nor do I like to ask anyone for such expensive gifts but at the same time, I am impulsive and get fascinated by such amazing gadgets which can assist you in your day to day life. I mean, who doesn't? But, at the same time I like to research the product I intent to buy well and I must have read more than 50 posts combined on all the four phones in the last 4-5 months. After all, you're going to spend a huge amount from your pocket so you have to be sure that it's for the right product which will give you a great user experience and will last considerably long. My previous selection the HTC Wildfire proved to be a right choice at that point of time and I was quite satisfied with most of its features, except for the camera shots as it often had a slight lag period resulting in blurred photos. Here, I won't discredit any product as I feel all four phones are great in their own way and it really depends on your individual taste and what suits your personality. For me, the choice was basically between comfort, power and built quality. I did some perception mapping to understand what phone my friends associate me with as this would give me a clear idea of whether an iPhone fits in anywhere or is completely out of question based on my personality. The question is shown below:

Blame the marketer in me but I find this method of evaluating somewhat reliable, at least to give an idea. The answers that I received surprised me. Someone said Nokia 1100 (obviously joking!), then a Iron Man transparent phone (WTF!), Nexus 4, Samsung, Windows Phone and 2 responses for iPhone.

Seeing those 2 responses for iPhone from someone whom I trust and value a lot gave me encouragement that I might be heading the right way. After the perception exercise, I thoroughly went through apple.com and their youtube channel to understand the finer aspects of the product. I came across the launch video where Jonathan Ive, Senior VP - Design speaks about the iPhone and that just won me. I must have watched this video 50 times and recommend you to watch it once, even if you have nothing to do with the iPhone.

As a marketer, I know this is Apple's exceptional marketing but somewhere in the video you find honesty, perfection and great value for design. As someone who believes strongly in visual design thinking, it was a great plus point for me. I instantly connected with Jonathan's vision for the iPhone and it went beyond that as I ended up reading a lot on him, the two favorites being his interview on simplicity in design and design for (economic) growth. By now, I had become his fan for design-thinking which resonated with my own perspectives on everything design. It wasn't enough and I knew I had to do something, so I spent some time on the weekend ideating a campaign (for fun) keeping one word in mind - simplicity. That's what really won my vote for iPhone. Simplicity 1-0.

It's not only the hooplah which influenced me but I actually took detailed opinions from actual iPhone users whom I trust and know well. Special thanks to @tanweeer, @ThisIsSamar, @IamKalpesh, @VishalGaba and @parthasarangi with whom I had convincing discussion on almost every aspect of the iPhone. This was important for me and if even two out of the three would have said a "No", I would've never gone ahead. Now, you understand why word-of-mouth is powerful? It really is, especially among trusted network.

@arifkhan7 I am using iPhone 5, previously had HTC Desire. iPhone is so much better, iOS is faster. I'm definitely with Team Apple from now
— Samar (@ThisIsSamar) May 22, 2013

'i' would! u won't regret it RT @arifkhan7: @thisissamar iMay, those whom I trust are giving it a strong reco and a thumbs-up. Should i "i"?
— Samar (@ThisIsSamar) May 23, 2013

So, to sum up, my final considerations were:

I required a phone first which can connect me instantly to my loved ones.

Something which should definitely fit comfortably in my hands. No compromise here.

Slips easily into your pocked and the iPhone Black looks very cool in hand.

Feature-rich hardware was not a priority but yes, I wanted the best apps.

A really good camera which can click instantly. And I mean instantly with sharp photos.

After sales support is very important and I didn't have a great experience with my previous phone's support. Have heard a lot of praise about Apple's premium support.

I'm from Digital Marketing and it's a known fact that the maximum content consumption is happening through iOS (and not Android). This was important for me as I feel it's important to understand the medium where your audience is and the only way to do that - be there.

Frankly, I never thought I'll make a 3 times jump for a smartphone. NEVER. But all the other flagships were priced above 40k which forced me to rethink and if one can stretch till 42k, 43k is not a big deal. It burnt my pockets but then it's an investment, at least for the next 2-3 years.

Okay, reasons 8 and 9 above are just for fun. On the other hand, why not these guys:

S4 - Big in my hand and it had much more features than I could possibly use. Confusing.

One - Very nice phone but once again big in my hand & was relatively heating up fast.

Nexus 4 - Convinced it's great phone but the design or feel - something was missing.

The Laws of attraction for me were - simplicity attracts, design inspires and touch fascinates which allowed me to buy the iPhone 5 with conviction. I called up my Father & Mother first and then my Sister to share the happy news, they were thrilled and congratulated me. Then, I spent time understanding the iPhone and its apps. I decided to do something different on twitter, and what better than tweet like my inspiration - Jack Dorsey (creator of twiter) followed by the announcement.

I started with Samsung and went on with it for 8 years, then moved to HTC for almost 2 years. I am a great admirer of HTC and have even praised HTC on my blog to which their Worldwide Community Manager replied. Even today, many folks associate me with HTC including Javed Anwer, the well known Tech Journalist from Times of India whom I've bothered several times with my phone-questions!

@arifkhan7 Nice. It's a great device for all practical purposes. Have fun :-)
— Javed Anwer (@Javed_Del) May 27, 2013

Now, it's time to move ahead with our family's first Apple baby - the iPhone 5. As I write this, I've spent almost 3 hours with it and I'm really loving it. I rely on my intuition and once again I think it has guided me well. I am satisfied with my "earned" iPhone for now and with this upgrade, I can focus on other priorities of life. Have I made the right choice? The tweets below suggest. I would like to hear from you in the comments section below.

What next? Well, I want to first of all complete this blog post asap so that I can spend some time with my new iPhone! I will go a little slow now as I'll have to first learn the iOS and adapt to it fast because it's all new for me. I will also use it for a lot of reading and play dots as I end up spending almost an hour commuting from home to office. Plus, I look forward to capture moments around me from the awesome iSight camera and am leaving you with this wonderful video by Apple. Feel the magic!

Good to read here that finally you buy a new iPhone and congratulations for your family's first Apple baby. IPhone is a brilliant craft of technology and have a really amazing design, that’s why I also like iPhone. Apple iPhone has also many benefit such as touch screen sensitivity is mind blowing, visuals are very nice and eye catching and it gives us a good feeling. Since I am a dissertation tutor and have been working since many years in this specific field of professional dissertation help London with a team of highly qualified and experienced thesis or dissertation experts. And as a writer I like your writing style of blog & thanks for sharing your personal experience with us.